Dear Parents and Friends of SGS, The term continues to move along very positively and quickly. There is so much exciting and interesting learning going on that we can celebrate, whether it is learning in class, learning in the social space or learning through students’ involvement in wider school life. The school da Vinci Decathlon teams have all been competing this week in this 10-discipline academic competition. We have had a Year 5 & 6 team, a Year 7 & 8 team and a Year 9 & 10 team. Each team has demonstrated capability in a number of these disciplines and valued the opportunity to be challenged and engaged with like-minded students. The teams have been prepared and supported by Miss Felicity Dowdell and we are all grateful for her hard work in making this opportunity available to students.

The Primary Rugby League team performed exceptionally well on Wednesday, winning all of their games, which now places them into the regional final early next term. Thanks to Mr Jason Croucher for his preparation and development of these young footballers. Cross Country Today all of the K – 12 community will be out at Lake Glenbawn for our annual Cross Country. This is a wonderful opportunity to be together and enjoy the day of competition, House spirit and fun together. I look forward to seeing many parents out at the course. ANZAC Day reminder Please return your forms to Student Services or via e-forms on SkoolBag. We give thanks to God for the rain that fell at the end of last week and the positive impact that it has on our community, while we continue to pray for follow up rain. Paul Smart Principal

Key SGS Community Events - Mark your Diary

SGS Fete & Markets - Sunday 5 May

SGS Foundation 1920’s Casino Night - Saturday

10 August

From the Burrow - Primary News with Mr Saunders School Culture The term school culture generally refers to the beliefs, perceptions, relationships, attitudes, and written and unwritten rules that shape and influence every aspect of how a school functions. It got me thinking about the different ways our students here at Scone Grammar School can contribute and have input to our own school culture. Here are some things we can be doing to contribute to what makes our school great… Showing pride in our school: This seems obvious enough but for our students to be proud of their school really does make a statement. This kind of pride can also be quite contagious to those around us. Taking pride in one's work: Being able to ask yourself “Is this honestly the best quality work I can do?” and then making improvements where you know they can be made. This leads to greater student self-satisfaction. It also impresses the teachers! Being prepared: This makes life easier for everyone. If you are prepared, it allows you greater opportunities to focus on what is important, and that is an enriching learning experience. Making good choices: Whether it be in the classroom, the playground or on an excursion, we need to be seen doing the right thing and encouraging those around us to follow suit. People notice. Going above and beyond: It’s easy to do the bare minimum but the sense of accomplishment is far greater when you go above and beyond. I also encourage our students to think about ‘who are you when nobody is watching?’. This speaks volumes about a student’s character. So many of our students do these things well, and I encourage them to maintain the high standards and be proud of their contribution to the culture of Scone Grammar School.

“Your strengths are your multiplier. Your strengths magnify you…they represent you at your best.” – McQuaid and Lawn

Word of the week: laconic e.g. he was a laconic participant in class discussions, as he never said much but when he did, it was to the point. Meaning: brief and to the point, using very few words Etymology: mid 16th century Latin How we can use it: sometimes it is ok to be laconic, just take caution not to be curt or rude. Congratulations to Seth Brayley (1 Gold), Kooper Duval (4 Gold), Tyler Johnson (5 Gold), Olivia Butters (2 Gold), Ruby Ryan (2 Blue), Addison Goodwin (6 Gold), Jonathan Pringle (1 Gold), Indie Miller (K Blue), Zara Nugent (4 Blue), Lulu Davis (5 Blue) and Sam Kelly (5 Blue) who are celebrating birthdays this week. I wish these students all the best as they enjoy their special day and share the time with family and friends.

From the Dean of Students P-12

I was privileged this week as I visited a Year 2 classroom who were engaged in a lesson about ‘gratitude’.

When students grasped the concept of gratitude, including the feelings and benefits of having this attitude, they wrote letters of gratitude. Having gratitude means to be thankful for the good things that happen and thanking others often. Fostering a culture of gratitude is one of the keys for us to be building positive flourishing learners and a positive school community. Why are we working towards instilling such an attitude? Research reveals gratitude can have these seven benefits: Gratitude opens the door to positive relationships. Gratitude improves physical health. Gratitude improves psychological health. Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression. Grateful people sleep better. Gratitude improves self-esteem. Gratitude increases mental strength AND THE ABILITY TO LEARN! Even if you are feeling negative, when you start looking at what you are grateful for, it is difficult to hold the negative emotion for very long. At Scone Grammar School, from our Pre-School to Year 12, we are encouraging students to make ‘being grateful’ one of their positive habits as they understand the importance of being grateful. God reminds us to be "thankful in everything, in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). When we find ourselves overwhelmed with burdens and worried about tomorrow, we can praise God for who He is and His promise to never leave us or forsake us. We can be mindful this upcoming Easter season, that we have been blessed with the free gift of salvation and eternal life!

Could you write a list of at least ten things you are grateful for at the end of your day? In Prayer this week: Reflect on: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Give thanks for: The gifts, such as our mind, that God has given us; God’s goodness in sending us Jesus, the resurrection and the life, so we can have a way to be friends with God; Parents, teachers and supporters who truly care for us; Pray for: End of term events such as parent and teacher interviews; Families and students who are ill or struggling at the moment: your son or daughter’s teacher/s! Rev’d Nate Atkinson natkinson@sgs.nsw.edu.au

Head of Secondary Our students in Years 7-10 were entertained by the 2014 Australian Slam Poetry champion, Zohab Zee Khan on Monday. They were also challenged by him, as he explored what resilience, perseverance and creativity can look like in a completely cool almost 2m tall young man. The conversations I heard after his performance have shown how much our students understood and appreciated what he had to say. Zohab came from the small town of Yenda near Griffith in NSW; he was the only child from a non Anglo Saxon background in his school, except for the year there was a Tongan boy too. He was bullied and left out because he was different and, after September 11, many of his peers saw him as a terrorist, despite the fact he is a 4th generation Australian. He explained how his peers made him hate his name but also how his mother made him love it. Please ask your children what they thought of him and his story; it was truly inspiring. I would like to thank Mrs Louise Broomfield for organising the afternoon. Jack Riordan in Year 8 showed off his bravery and courage as he stood in front of all of the students from Years 7-10, next to Zohab and freestyle rapped with reference to the topics discussed on Monday afternoon. It was a great effort and was warmly received by all. Jack showed the traits I would like to encourage in all of our students. Our staff last week also moved out of their comfort zones and attended a Mandarin lesson with Mr Kei. I went to class on Thursday and tried some of my new words out on the two boys in my maths class. That act produced much conversation in my class about why I would bother - my answer was simple; the boys are trying to learn my language, so why shouldn’t I try to learn some of theirs? The bigger conversation from this was interesting, though, as one of my class said “Miss, aren’t you too old to learn new stuff?” While my first response was something about never being too old, the talk we enjoyed after that involved lightbulb moments for my students. Learning words in a new language isn’t easy for me, trying them out in front of my Year 8 class could have been downright embarrassing, in the same way as learning fractions and percentages this week in maths has been hard for Year 8 students. When you talk to your students this week encourage them that learning can be hard, but the rewards at the end, like the smiles I get when I say “Ni hǎo” to the boys in my class, are so worth it. Quotes of the week

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” Pele

Have a great week! Mrs Deanna Hollis dhollis@sgs.nsw.edu.au

Tales from The Yellow Cottage

Rethinking, Reducing, Re-Using and Recycling The Yellow Cottage has a passionate commitment to sustainable world-views, and this drives our service philosophy and daily practices and educators alike. As part of our service philosophy we believe in providing an enriching indoor and outdoor environment which is stimulating, flexible, safe and sustainable. At mealtimes we have an array of bins. We have a REDcycle Bin for soft plastic’s which we take to REDcycle drop off points in Scone; Food Scraps Bin for the school chooks and compost; a Recycling Bin for paper and hard plastics which we place in our yellow Council Bin; and a Rubbish Bin for everything else. We can put things in the right bins and be environmentally responsible, but it’s simply not enough in this era of dramatic global climate change, with long term implications for all children’s health and wellbeing. We appreciate our families supporting our sustainable practices and we are proud of all the plastic free lunch boxes. Can we encourage everyone to aim higher and to reduce our overall soft plastics and general rubbish when you pack your children’s lunches. Please try and use reusable containers and wrapping as much as possible. We will have more of a focus on this as we work towards Plastic Free July.

Stirring Compost Healthy Snacks, Plastic Free

RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE!

Leading by Example

News from the School Counsellor Time to Relax!

Holidays are wonderful times for students to relax and enjoy their families and friends, after all, they are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and grandchildren well before they are students. For all students, holidays are also an excellent opportunity to get active outside, read, exercise more and pursue their hobbies. They are definitely not a time to laze around glued to electronic devices and watching videos all day. Family holidays are special times for students to learn things about their worlds and meet other young people. The opportunities to develop their abilities to create and nurture relationships will go a long way to them enjoying a healthy state of wellbeing. To take responsibility for their education, a proactive action for students is to honestly self-assess on their progress towards their goals and complete: 1. How Were Your Efforts Last Term? 2. Learning Goals and Subject Reflections 3. Learning Goals for Next Term. Doing this puts them in a situation where they are active participants in their learning journeys with their parents and teachers; this develops their capabilities to think interdependently. The holidays are times to reward themselves for good efforts and celebrate their and others’ successes.

“Every day is a wonderful opportunity to love, to learn, to laugh, to care and celebrate the joy

of life.” Kat Moore kmoore@sgs.nsw.edu.au Ext: 1220

SGS Fete & Market News • So many Markets & Stalls

• Food Galore • Fantastic rides once again this year - will suit all ages

• Raffle 1st Prize - Tickets to Elton John Concert • + accommodation

• Raffle Tickets will be sent home &can be purchased online - www.raffletix.com.au/?ref=g86yd

SGS Fete & Market News • Wristbands can be purchased online or from Scone

Newsagents • www.trybooking.com/BAMIM

Community Notices & News

For Your Diary

Term 1 Tuesday 29 January to Friday 12 April

Week 10 Friday 5 April Whole School Cross Country - Lake Glenbawn Week 11 Monday 8 April HICES Debating - Round 3 Parent Teacher Interviews Tuesday 9 April P&F Meeting - 6.00pm in the Library Sydney Art Express - Senior Visual Arts Students Wednesday 10 April Parent Teacher Interviews Thursday 11 April Primary Rugby 7’s Regional Finals - Tamworth Friday 12 April KYCK Youth Convention - to Sunday 14 April TAS Primary Rugby Carnival - to Sunday 14 April

END OF TERM 1

Canteen Roster

Term 1 Tuesday 29 January to Friday

12 April Week 10 Friday 5 April Fiona Bailey, Whole School Cross Country Week 11 Monday 8 April Jenny Crackett Tuesday 9 April Fiona Bailey Wednesday 10 April Fiona Bailey, Lyn Sinclair Thursday 11 April Jenny Crackett, Vanda Mikuckiene Friday 12 April Jenny Crackett, Kerrily Adams

END OF TERM 1